42.5 mi / 10.6 mph / 2010 ft. climbing
Home: Bullard’s Beach State Park hiker/biker campsite

Today’s ride was another good compare/contrast with nine years ago. My memory was that Coos Bay sucked, and yeah, it still kinda sucked. Big bridge, lots of unfriendly traffic, kinda run-down. But it has a Rite-Aid, which in this region is a place where you can get Amazon packages delivered! It was our first time using that service, and it worked great, except for the fact that the tires I’d ordered (to replace the one that got gashed in Washington) weren’t the right size, but I can’t blame Coos Bay for that.

My memory of Charleston was that it’s even grittier and grayer, but that didn’t match what we saw this time. Yes, it’s still a working harbor (contrast with Astoria where the waterfront buildings are brewpubs rather than processing fish guts like they sill are here), but sunny weather vs. gray, plus all the animal life made it a great place to stop for lunch rather then escape ASAP.

It was also another fun place to have mystified fuel attendants (we’re not allowed to pump our own gas in these parts of Oregon) fill our tiny little fuel bottle for our stove for fifty cents.

Then it was on to Seven Devils Road, which I correctly remembered had 10% grades, but Rett powered through them with surprising strength, and the empty non-101-ness made the grades more tolerable.

My memories of the Bullard’s Beach State Park and the hiker/biker area didn’t match at all, but I’m pretty sure that’s because they created a whole new area.

My memories of being there with my wife were non-existent, because nine years ago the idea of having a wife wasn’t even on my radar. But there we were, marking our 3rd wedding anniversary. I love her, and love that we can do this with our lives, together.